In hydrocarbon exploration and production operations, well boreholes are drilled by rotating a drill bit attached to a drillstring, and may be bored vertically or bored in selected directions via geosteering operations. Various downhole devices located in a bottomhole assembly or other locations along the drillstring measure various properties such as operating parameters and formation characteristics, and include sensors for determining the presence of hydrocarbons.
Various environmental influences, such as heat and pressure, put significant stress on components of exploration and/or production tools. For example, temperatures downhole in a borehole may exceed the maximum temperature capacity of some components of the tools. In addition, sensors and other electronics units may generate heat. Such heat generated by the tools and/or the formation pose a significant risk of overheating. Accordingly, cooling techniques such as evaporative cooling can be used to control the temperature of components in downhole tools to reduce or prevent degradation or deformation which could lead to tool failure and/or reduce the effective operating life of the components. However, such techniques are limited in the amount of heat that can be absorbed by evaporation.